Tasty recipes from chef Ronit Penso's kitchen

About

Welcome to my Blog!

My name is Ronit Penso. I am a professional chef, a graduate of New Englad Culinary Institute, with work experience in diverse aspects of the culinary profession; as an executive chef, inns restaurants head chef, private chef and caterer; in places such as Israel, Vermont, NYC, and the Hamptons – to name but a few.
Currently, I work as a private chef, give cooking demos, translate and develop recipes in New York.On top of working as a hands-on chef, I am also a culinary journalist, cookbook translator, editor and author. My first cookbook – “3 Courses in 30 Minutes”, was published by Modan Publishing House in Israel in 2008. I am now working on my second cookbook.

When I cook, I don’t like to limit myself to any specific theme or ethnic orientation, and the recipes you’ll find here reflect this eclectic approach.The idea behind this blog is to promote daily cooking from scratch, in a home kitchen. Therefore, the cooking is not done in a professional kitchen, and the photos are not the product of a professional photographer. The emphasis is on detailed recipes and photos of the cooking process. I hope this blog will encourage you to cook more at home and enjoy the process and the results.

I welcome any questions and feedback about this blog. Feel free to contact me* with any questions or for information about my cooking demos, translations or developing recipes. Happy Cooking!

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199 thoughts on “About”

I just saw your performance on Food Network’s Chopped! I was so inspired by your confidence, your spirit, and most of all your bold use of flavor & spice. In my view, you were the winner of that competition, and I wish you the best of luck in your culinary endeavors and your yoga practice. Congratulations on a job well done. I hope to have the honor of tasting your creations someday soon.

Hi Ronit,
I came across your blog. Great work! Interesting content and nice pictures.
I am a foodblogger from Canada. I invite you to visit and follow my food blog at: https://zest4foodblog.wordpress.com.
Cheers,
Angelika

Hi Ronit,
i saw your ad at Yediot, trying to contact you via phone but the phone u listed there is not working. please contact me at 305-798-7070. i have a few friends that would like to schedule something together.
Thank You,
Shlomit

Thank You for the kind words Ronit,
I love learning about food, more about ones I know, all about new things, and both the recipes and the stories behind them are important to me. (maybe that’s just me LOL)
When ever I travel I try hard to get to grips with local food and food traditions… I’m very much enjoying your recipes too 🙂

Its like being in a restaurant ! Fine presentation with your Blog Mam 🙂 with the step by step explanations ! Thank you for viewing and liking my post ! 🙂 Wishes for your ventures ! i’ll be visiting Tasty Eats Ciao 🙂

Thank you for your nice comment.
I do try to make it easier for people who don’t necessarily have a lot of kitchen experience.
I hope you’ll like future posts as well, and I’m looking forward to reading your posts. 🙂

Congratulations :)! I have nominated your blog for The Versatile Blogger Award. To accept it, all you need to do is visit my blog post and follow the rules. Participation is optional. http://goo.gl/nj8UDs

Dear Ronit
Please give me an idea about how to cook custard squash. I have just grown a few different types including 2 of these and not sure what to do with them. I will send you a photograph. I am not keen on butternut squash skin although I know some people enjoy it.
Joyce xxx

Hi Joyce,
I think it would be best to peel and clean from seeds, then cut into medium size cubes, toss with some coarse salt, freshly ground black pepper and olive oil, and place in a large baking pan, in one layer. I would then toss on top of it a few rosemary or sage sprigs and a head of garlic, cut in half, and roast it all in a preheated oven on high heat (220c) for about 30-40 minutes, or until the cubes are nicely browned.
other than that there’s always the soup option…
Good luck!
Ronit

Thank you for adding my blog to your list, and sorry for not participating. I find the awards procedures to be too time consuming… I hope it will not deter you from keeping on enjoying my blog as much as I enjoy yours. 🙂

Thank you, Nancy, for nominating me and sorry for not participating. I find the awards procedures to be too time consuming… I hope you’ll keep on visiting my blog and enjoy it as much as I enjoy yours! 🙂

Wow I love your blog! Maybe we can connect through email one day about possibly working together on a recipe post? I can definitly learn soo much from you! You have tons of experience too! Please take a look at a post called “lending a hand.” I am in need of Professional chefs. 🙂 Thx!

Hi Ronit – Can’t find a regular email address for you, so am writing here. Hope you see it. About that colorful Israeli cous cous that we’ve been talking about . . . I finally found it at INHarvest (formerly Indian Harvest)!! About twenty years ago, I ordered things from them all the time (from – GASP – their catalogue!), but first they went commercial, and then I couldn’t find them any more. But today I received their latest newsletter, and there was the cous cous! They have a great grouping of mixed grains varieties. I formerly kept about a dozen or so different ones around all the time for options at dinnertime, and hope to get an order in real soon so that we can once again enjoy these pleasures. The URL for their site is:

Hi Judie,
thanks for the update. The site looks very impressive and I’m sure I’ll order some interesting items from it.
Also thanks for making me understand I don’t have a good “contact” page… I’ll try to see how to add that. Meanwhile, here is my email address, just in case… 🙂pensoron@gmail.com
Thanks again!
Ronit

Thank you, Ahila, for nominating me. I’m honored and glad to know you enjoy following my blog. I too enjoy yours and learn so much from it. It is a pleasure to discover the secrets of a cuisine I wasn’t familiar with before.
Happy New Year to you too and all the best wishes! 🙂

Hi Andy,
Green almonds are one of the things I can’t find here and definitely miss a lot!
Here are a few ideas:

* Sliced or roughly chopped, they are a great addition to any version you have for “Israeli salad”. They are slso wonderful as a salad on their own, with some chopped herbs, chopped salted and roasted cashews and simply dressed in lemon juice and olive oil.

* Quick pickling them is also great: place in a jar, add 1-2 hot peppers, a few garlic cloves and 1-2 bay leaves. Cover with salted water, 2-3 Tbs vinegar or lemon juice and then top with olive oil. Cover the jar loosely and let stand at room temperature for 1-2 days, and then keep in the fridge.

” Quick pickling them is also great: place in a jar, add 1-2 hot peppers, a few garlic cloves and 1-2 bay leaves. Cover with salted water, 2-3 Tbs vinegar or lemon juice and then top with olive oil. Cover the jar loosely and let stand at room temperature for 1-2 days, and then keep in the fridge.”

This looks very interesting, Ronit. What else might one put into the pickling “juice” besides the almonds? When I get beets, there are always three to a bunch. We eat two at a meal and then I pickle the other one to use as an accompaniment at another meal. My usual sugar and vinegar “pickle” fluid looks anemic next to yours, but not sure what other foods might take to it well. Any suggestions? About the beets, or otherwise?

Beets would also benefit from the same – garlic, hot pepper and bay leaves, and I love how they go well with fresh dill, so I usually add a few sprigs.
You can also add mustard seeds, fennel seeds, or caraway seeds.
I love changing the marinade and each time ending up with a new flavor. 🙂

Ronit you really made my day with this story about your FB account 🙂 I was jogging in the park today when I started reading your About and I saw it!was laughing to myself all way back home 🙂 I have to say I’m impressed by your cooking experience and all the nominations you’ve been getting, well done 🙂

Hi Ronit!
I’m so happy to have come across your blog!
Wow! I admire you for being all those things at the same time 😀
I look forward to start exploring your recipes and posts!
I LOVE the idea of your blog => homecooking with normal photographs 😀

Hey, Ronit! I just wanted to let you know that I have nominated you for the Liebster Award if you’re interested in participating. Hope you are! If you haven’t heard of it, you can google it or you can head over to my blog to check out the details. Absolutely love your blog, by the way 🙂

Thank you Jane. 🙂
I love Sephardic foods and post about them, or my versions of them, every now and then.
I’m always looking for more Sephardic recipes and ideas and loved your blog! I’m happy to follow it.
If you’re interested, you can check out my posts for homemade marzipan, okra and other Sephardic recipes. You’re welcomed to re-blog them.

Thank you – that is, indeed, quite interesting. I can’t say that I have ever tried okra, mostly because of the “slimy” reputation. I would see it in cafeteria lines in South Florida back in the 50’s and 60’s, but it didn’t look like something I would want to have on my plate. I’m usually quite adventurous in tasting all manner of foods and preparations, but . . .

Your recipe calls for baking it for a very long time, which seems counterintuitive for such a fragile item. Does the long baking time bring out something special – the caramelization?

Shalom Elaine,
thank you so much for your kind words and for finding my blog and commenting.
I’m afraid thinking outside the box is not what the judges were looking for, but I’m glad I managed to give a good fight up until the end – after all, that’s the Israeli spirit! 🙂
Hope you’ll enjoy the recipes here.
כל טוב!,
Ronit

Thank you for letting me know, Aletta! I had no idea the show was on in other countries as well.
Participating definitely made me stay away from such shows! 🙂 It’s hard to understand the filming time beforehand, how pushy those producers can be and how the results depend on more than just cooking skills… But it was an interesting experience and I’ve learned a lot from it:)

Hello Ronit! Many thanks for dropping in and following my blog – I hope you find something which something fun on either my baking blog or or food-free travel blog 🙂
So glad to have found your corner of WordPress.
Anne

Hi Ronit! Just hopping around the blogosphere and visiting some fun and interesting blogs, I found you and thought I’d say hey. If you want to return the favor, I invite you to come visit my world over at http://www.thatssojacob.wordpress.com. Stay awhile, let’s be friends 🙂

Hi Ronit! I recently saw you in Chopped on food Network. I wasn’t sure if it was the current season or an old episode since I record all episodes of Chopped on my DVR. I wasn’t sure if it was you when I watched the episode. And now I saw your picture and realized that it was indeed you! Congrats and Awesome job! 🙂

Thank you Saritha! I’m very happy to know you enjoy my blog.
I highly appreciate the nomination and apologize for not participating in the award scene due to time limitations.
Looking forward to discovering more of your wonderful blog posts as well. 🙂

Ronit, very nice blog you have here and very nice to lean more about you. I want to thank you for following my blog, I will certainly take time to visit yours as well. I hope your day is a happy one! 🙂

Thank you Shantini, I’m glad you enjoy my blog and appreciate the nomination.
I’m sorry that due to lack of time I cannot participate in the awards scene. I hope you’ll continue to enjoy the blog as much as I enjoy yours. 🙂

Hi, Ronit
I know this is out of the blue, but do you know “The Blogger Tag”? I didn’t know that until I was tagged.
I usually don’t accept any awards but this was little bit fun and I didn’t need to make up any questions so I accepted it.
I just wanted to let you know in my post I tagged you because I really appreciate you like my blog, and I like your blog!
But this does’t mean you have to post “The blogger tag”. I just enjoyed answering questions and tagging you to thank you 🙂

Hi Ronit 🙂 I’ve nominated you for the Blogger Recognition Award, since I like your blog and photos:https://polentaebaccala.com/2017/02/01/blogger-recognition-award/
Participation is purely optional, but it’s a nice thing I think, so if you are interested please follow the link to my blog to check out the rules. And have a nice day! 🙂

I love your original recipes that include novel combinations of ingredients (at least for me) – the saffron and orange cake looked intriguing! I’m also impressed with your food expertise. Congrats on your many accomplishments!